April 27, 2014

MERS and the Saudi media

The Ministry of Health confirmed 10 more cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) late Saturday, and said two Saudis have died from the disease.

A 63-year-old woman, who had suffered chronic illness, died of MERS on Saturday in Jeddah, and a 78-year-old man died from the disease in Riyadh, bringing to 94 the number of people who have died of the disease since September 2012.

Here's what I don't understand: Saudi Arabia is 10 hours ahead of the North American West Coast. The Gazette must have known about today's MERS cases when I did, almost 8 hours ago—early Sunday evening, Saudi time.

So why do they ignore that report and its numbers, and tell us about Saturday's cases?

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The Ministry of Health confirmed 10 more cases of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) late Saturday, and said two Saudis have died from the disease.

A 63-year-old woman, who had suffered chronic illness, died of MERS on Saturday in Jeddah, and a 78-year-old man died from the disease in Riyadh, bringing to 94 the number of people who have died of the disease since September 2012.

Here's what I don't understand: Saudi Arabia is 10 hours ahead of the North American West Coast. The Gazette must have known about today's MERS cases when I did, almost 8 hours ago—early Sunday evening, Saudi time.

So why do they ignore that report and its numbers, and tell us about Saturday's cases?